表から攻める・裏から攻める

剣道における「裏・表」とはどういうことでしょうか。
お互いに中段に構え合ったとき、自分から見て相手の竹刀の右側を表、左側を裏と言います。
表を攻めると言う場合、相手の表＝相手にとっての左側、自分から見ると相手の右側を攻めることです。
ではなぜ、「表・裏」というのでしょうか？
この考え方は、下図のように太陽の昇降に関係があります。
北から南に向かって構えた時、太陽は東、すなわち自分の左側から出てくるので表と言い、反対に西側すなわち太陽が沈む右側を裏と言います。

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これからも技の練習をしていく中で「表・裏」の言葉は頻繁に出てきます。
しっかり覚えておきましょう。



What do "omote" and "ura" mean in Kendo?
When you and your opponent face with your shinai at the chudan position, you call the right side of your opponent's shinai omote, and the left side ura.
To make an attack from omote is to make an attack on the "omote" side of your opponent, which means the right side of your opponent's shinai from your viewpoint, and the left side from your opponent's viewpoint.

Then why do we call the two sides omote and ura, or the surface side and the hidden side?
The answer to this question is related to the movement of the sun, as shown in the picture below.
When one faces towards south, the sun will rise from the left side of one's body (=east side). This is why one's left side is called the surface side, or omote. The right side of your body --which is the west side in which direction the sun sets -- is called the shadowy hidden side, or ura.
We will frequently hear these two words, omote and ura, in our practice in the future. Please make sure you won't forget these terms.

See you at the dojo this weekend!

(Translated by Yujiro and proofread by Mayu Nakano)